Moon Over the Whomping Willow
by Clayin
Summary: A bit of information given to you by a person you wanted to be friends with almost gets you killed. Thus is the story of Severus Snape. (Changed)


Disclaimers: Snape, Dumbledore, McGonagall, the Marauder crew, Lily - they do not belong to me, nor do any other characters you recognize. They belong to J.K. Rowling, of course.  
  
Summary: A bit of information given to you by a person you wanted to be friends with almost gets you killed. Thus is the story of Severus Snape.  
  
Moon Over the Whomping Willow  
  
"Hey! Snape!" Severus Snape looked out over the dark Hogwarts lawn and saw Sirius Black running towards him. "Wait up, I wanna tell you something!" Severus's brow furled. Despite the Blacks and Snapes equal ranks in the Wizarding World, and how they had grown up next door to each other, the only words Sirius Black had ever spoken to Severus were either angry or gloating. Sirius had caught up with Severus, and Severus sneered.  
  
"What do you want, Black?" he asked coldly. Never act too eager to befriend someone like Black and/or Potter, they had enough groupies.  
  
"Well, you've been bugging us for months about where Remus goes every month, right?" Sirius said, leaning against the castle wall. Severus caught what looked like a mad twinkling in Sirius's gray eyes.  
  
"Yes." He said slowly. Sirius smirked. "As you know, Remus's whereabouts are a well-guarded secret of ours." He said, tossing his head to flick a few strands of black hair out of his eyes.  
  
"Your point, Black?" Severus asked icily. "I don't particularly feel like standing here while you gloat about my ignorance." Sirius flung an arm around Severus's shoulders.  
  
"No, no, no, you misunderstand me, Snape." He said jovially. "I want to share the information with you!"  
  
Severus gaped. He blinked and shook his head. "What?" he asked finally. Sirius gave him a friendly "don't you understand?" look.  
  
"I'm going to tell you where Remus goes every month!" he repeated, sounding rather amused. "Hasn't this been the whole purpose of the conversation?"  
  
"Why? What's in it for you?" Severus asked suspiciously. Sirius Black rarely did anything out of the goodness of his heart. And considering all the loathing he had for Severus, this sudden change of heart was more then slightly frightening.  
  
"Well, you have been trying to get us to accept you since, what, before first year?" Sirius asked. He pulled his arm off Severus's shoulders and shrugged. "But if you've changed your mind."  
  
Changed his mind? Severus ground his teeth together. After the five years spent trying to impress James Potter and Sirius Black, and another five years of taking the boys' pranks and trying to make them like him, and Sirius thought that Severus had changed his mind?!  
  
"I don't need your acceptance, but it would be acceptable." He said quickly, finally saying the words he had practiced for the day when Sirius and James and Lupin and Pettigrew came begging for his assistance and friendship. Sirius laughed.  
  
"I thought as much. Never let them see that you're happy, eh?" he nudged Severus playfully in the ribs. "All right, shh, very secret information. Swear on.whatever that you'll never tell a single soul what I am about to tell you." Sirius whispered.  
  
"I swear on the honor of my family," Severus said. Sirius's eyes flickered and Severus added hastily, "And by my wand that I shall not divulge this secret to anyone." Sirius grinned. "All right then." He said, clapping his hands together. "You know the Whomping Willow?"  
  
"Yes. You threw me into it in third year." Snape replied, scowling. Sirius made an exasperated sound in the back of his throat. "You survived, didn't you?" he said, rolling his eyes. "Ever heard the phrase "That which does not kill me can only make me stronger"?"  
  
"Then maybe Pettigrew should take a turn with the Willow." Snape said. "Heaven and Hell knows he needs it." Sirius's eyes flashed.  
  
"Look, Snape." He snarled, seeming almost to grow bigger and more dangerous. "Do you want to know or not?" Severus tried not to flinch away. Sirius was much taller then he was and a bit broader across the shoulders. Sirius Black had taken on seventh years and won.  
  
"Yes." He said, managing to keep his voice from betraying his fear.  
  
"Then stop mouthing off!" Sirius retreated back to normal and grinned. "Well, that's where Remus goes every month. See, there's a knot on the trunk of the Willow, and if you can poke the knot, the Willow freezes and you can go in after Remus." He grinned, the moonlight glittering off his teeth in a manner that made him look almost wolfish. He clapped Severus on the back almost hard enough to make him fall over. "Have fun, Snape! I have a meeting to go to, but I'll see you in a bit!" Sirius sprinted off, disappearing almost immediately against the backdrop of the Forbidden Forest. Severus shook his head and peered around for any other signs of life. Seeing none, he grinned and ran towards the Whomping Willow.  
  
+++  
  
Severus Snape stood contemplating the thrashing tree. Sirius and James and company had finally accepted him. After all, as Sirius had said before, the details of where Remus Lupin went every month were a secret guarded from everyone. They even refused to tell that Evans girl that Potter fancied so much. That Sirius had given him this information was a welcome surprise. Severus well remembered his previous encounters with James and Sirius, the earliest being when he met them at age five. James had come over to Sirius's house, and Severus's mother was having a chat with Sirius's mother and had sent Severus out to play in the backyard. After quick introductions, James had offered to let Severus fly on his broom - a real broom, not like the toy one Severus had. Severus had declined at first; not being one for heights, but Sirius egged him on until he agreed. Severus's first flight on an actual broom had resulted in a broken leg and three cracked ribs. The broom had escaped unharmed. The duo must have gotten in trouble, because afterwards they would only spend time with him if they were forced to, and even then would try to avoid him by playing hide-n-seek or keep-away some other game like that. At Hogwarts, it had almost seemed to get worse, with Sirius and James picking on him every chance they got. Looking back on it, Severus supposed that his being on the receiving end of most of their pranks was not because they hated him, as he had believed at first, but their way of showing friendship - he remembered James's hair turning different colors for a whole week once with Sirius at fault - and now they were ready to take the friendship further. Severus grinned and couldn't resist a small whoop of joy. All those months wondering what rumors the four had been spreading about him, and what horrible stories they had been telling each other about him had no base in facts! The whispering must have been about what prank to pull next or something. Finally, to have four actual friends to pull pranks with, as opposed to pulling pranks out of revenge, seemed absolutely delightful.  
  
It's probably a prank, Severus thought, a puncture in his happy balloon. Sirius usually was the one to play the cruelest pranks.and if this was a prank, it definitely fell under the heading of cruel. Severus shook himself. He didn't need the four boys' acceptance. It would just be nice to have it. Glancing around, Severus found a discarded tree branch and poked at the knot on the trunk. When the tree froze, Severus breathed a sigh of relief; having half convinced himself that this whole thing was another prank. He peered down the dark passage and shivered. The dark wasn't very pleasant for him, as the Marauders had a tendency to play their pranks when it was darkest.  
  
This could still be a prank. Severus reminded himself as he marched down the tunnel. Now you know where Lupin goes every month. Go back and get someone to go with you, you're acting like a stupid Gryffindor, charging into the unknown like this! Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, Severus pulled out his wand.  
  
"Lumos." He whispered and used the light from his wand to find his way down the tunnel, bending almost in half to keep from scraping his head on the rocks jutting out of the ceiling. After what felt like an hour, Severus thought he heard the sound of pounding feet behind him. He paused; wondering who it was, then shrugged. It must be Sirius, coming to join whatever party he and the others had planned. Severus figured that they were somewhere in Hogsmead, judging by the distance he'd traveled. He'd missed the train from Hogsmead to Hogwarts several times because of James, Sirius, Lupin and Pettigrew and their pranks. The tunnel started rising, Severus must be getting close to the end. That was good; he'd been walking at a crouch all the way. The tunnel twisted ahead of him and he felt a cheer in his throat -  
  
That promptly died at a painful scream just beyond the bend in the tunnel. Severus felt his stomach drop down to his toes. Taking several deep breaths, and sure that Sirius wouldn't have sent him into mortal danger, he peered around the corner. He saw a small patch of light through an opening. He eased forward and climbed through, holding his wand. He saw a disordered room, all the furniture shattered and broken. He shivered at the large chunks torn out of a wooden chair. From Severus's right came a low growl. As if he was moving through molasses, Severus turned. The Werewolf growled again, eyes glittering as it stared at Severus. It snarled and crouched. As Severus stepped backward and opened his mouth to scream, he knew that he was as good as dead. Sirius Black, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin, the beast that crouched before him, wanted him that way. The wolf sprung, teeth aimed for Severus's throat.  
  
"STUPIFY!" a voice screamed. A jet of light shot from the opening Severus had entered through and hit the werewolf in the side. It yelped as it was flung sideways into a wall and fell to the floor. "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" a hand caught Severus around the wrist and dragged him through the hole and down the tunnel. Severus stumbled through the dark tunnel, banging his head against several rocks and tripping and falling at least once. He was focusing most of his energy in getting as far away from that bloodthirsty, merciless beast that was Remus Lupin.  
  
Severus and the other person, another boy, exploded from the Whomping Willow onto the grass, gasping weakly.  
  
"Did he bite you?" the other boy panted, bent double with his hands on his knees.  
  
"What?" Severus gasped from where he was sprawled on his back in the grass.  
  
"DID HE BITE YOU?" the boy yelled, grabbing Severus by the shoulders and shaking him. Severus felt his heart drop through to his toes again as he recognized the messy hair and hazel eyes behind the round-frame glasses.  
  
"No." he moaned, partially in answer to the question and partially in denial of the identity of his rescuer. James Potter sighed in relief.  
  
"Thank the gods and stars." He wheezed, collapsing in a heap next to Severus.  
  
"You saved my life, Potter." Severus said woodenly after a he managed to get some of his breath back. "You could have died." James moaned and rolled over onto his back.  
  
"Just call it my own personal bloody-minded recklessness." He groaned in reply, sitting up slowly. "We ought to get up to the hospital wing." With a groan, Severus eased himself up to his feet and stumbled after James.  
  
"How did you know?" he asked as they reached the castle doors.  
  
"Sirius told me." James muttered darkly. "I don't know what was going through his head when he sent you in there after Remus."  
  
"Black is a bastard." Severus hissed. "A bastard and a murderer and a - a -" the terror of the night's events finally caught up to Severus, and his eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted.  
  
+++  
  
When Severus opened his eyes again, it was bright and sunny in the hospital wing. He slowly sat up, running his fingers through his hair.  
  
"Good. You're awake." A voice purred. Severus jolted and saw Lucius Malfoy, a seventh year Slytherin sitting in a chair nearby. Lucius smiled knowingly. "You've been unconscious for the past week, Severus."  
  
"I - I have?" Severus asked slowly. Lucius leaned forward in his chair.  
  
"Yes. You have." He said calmly. "Dumbledore found Sirius Black - the coward ran all the way to Hogsmead." Severus's eyes flashed and his hands tightened to fists on the blankets.  
  
"He tried to kill me!" he cried. "The bastard tried to kill me and then he ran away! He's going to Azkaban for-"  
  
"No." Lucius interrupted. "He's not."  
  
"WHAT?!" Severus shrieked. Lucius winced.  
  
"Quiet!" he hissed. "Or I'll get thrown out!" his icy gray eyes met Severus's black ones. "Apparently, Sirius Black wasn't "in his right mind" at the time of the advents or some such nonsense." Lucius testified, climbing out of the chair and pacing towards a window. "Sirius Black is merely facing a month's suspension and counseling, along with a loss of House points." Lucius leaned against the window and looked up at the ceiling, crossing his arms over his chest. "The points don't matter, of course, because James Potter saved your life, at "great risk to his own" and won back most of them." Again, icy gray eyes met shocked black. "A proverbial slap on the wrist. "Apparently, the loss of Slytherins doesn't really matter. Whatever mental anguish Black has caused you by this act has been and is being ignored! And the worst part is you thought that they would accept you." Severus winced.  
  
"I d-don't know what you're talking about." He lied softly. Lucius barked a laugh.  
  
"Oh yes you do, Severus. I know. Black and Potter and Lupin and Pettigrew - who wouldn't want to join their group? They have everything - power, friendship, popularity, the favoritism of the staff. All you want is to join and be a part of that wonderful group." Severus looked up again to find Lucius's eyes burning into his. "And Black tried to kill you simply because you wanted what every human deserves." Lucius walked over to the bed and knelt down beside it without breaking eye contact with Severus. "I can give you power beyond what Black and Potter have." Lucius whispered, an icy fire appearing in his eyes. "I can give you acceptance - Security. Protection from those that would try to hurt you. All this - and more." A thin smile appeared on Lucius's face. "Such is the promise - and power - of the Dark Lord."  
  
Severus jerked back and stared wildly around the room, wondering if anyone had heard Lucius.  
  
"Certainly there are prices." Lucius said softly, unworried. "But the rewards are greater." The icy fire burned into Severus's eyes. "I've watched you, Severus. You have the strength, the power in you to join us." Severus looked away, and then looked back at Malfoy. The words Malfoy spoke were true. Power. Safety. Protection. Acceptance into a group more powerful then Black and Potter. Severus closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they burned with a fire to match Lucius's.  
  
"Show me everything."  
  
The End 


End file.
